Nokia Bell Labs, an industry group that builds key enablers for a high-speed 5G network, has helped to develop the LuxTurrim5G ecosystem project, a platform for fast and adaptable mobile communications.

Based on a “smart pole concept” which integrates 5G base stations and a variety of sensors, cameras and displays, the solution could be used to leverage a huge amount of data and create digital services for smart cities.

The technology has already been piloted for two years at Nokia Campus in Espoo, Finland and, according to a statement, is soon set to expand to a real environment in the Kera region of Espoo.

Currently, the capacity of mobile networks would not be able to support the increased number of users and services required by smart cities, a discrepancy that could lead to bottlenecks and disruption.

LuxTurrim5G is said to solve this problem, as its smart light poles improve data transfer capacity by producing higher frequencies, a “prerequisite” for the effective transmission of data.

Tommi Uitto, President of Mobile Networks business group at Nokia, commented: “The communications network based on 5G smart light pole concept creates a platform for a variety of smart city digital services, bringing new business opportunities to many actors.

“The pilot environment created by the LuxTurrim5G ecosystem makes it possible to test them in practice already now, which will significantly speed up the development of the 5G smart city.”

Pekka Wainio, Project Manager from Nokia Bell Labs, also explained what comes next: “The follow-up plans include strong business development, including new business models and ways to exploit the large amounts of data to create new business.